Within five minutes of The bondsman Introducing its main character, hub haloran (Kevin Bacon), He Dies. And there’s no question about it. The man’s throat is slit from end to end. When he Unexpectedly Revives, He Zooms Right Off to Give His Would-Bee Killers a Piece of His Mind. But the obvious question looms: what the hell just happy? As it turns out, hell does Play a raather large part in hub’s story.
Created by Graeringer David and Brough to Prime Video by the Horror Heads at Blumhouse Television, The bondsman is a high-energy supernatural thriller with a small-tohern twang. It’s much in the vein of Stan against Evil or Ash vs. Evil deadWith Bacon’s Middle-ready Reluctant Hero Squaaring Off with the Forces of Darkness that’ve put Him in their sights. In this case, hub’s actually in caahoots with the devil – asing his bail bondsman skills to track down escapeed demons and return them to the underworld.
It’s not a job he choose for Himself, and the terms are non-negotiable, as explained by midge (Wandavision‘s jolene purpose), his liaison to his new “Employer.” Their company, of course, is really a front for satan; One of the show’s running gags is that it operates like a Sleazy Pyramid Scheme and Relies on the Most Annoying Technology Possible, Incliding Incessant Spam, 1-900 Numps, and FAX MACHINES.
While Midge’s main purpose is to appear when hub (and the audience) need More Exposition, The bondsman Does take care to flesh her out and give her some specific motivations of her own. That’s also the case with the show’s other supporting cast members, especially beth grant (Donnie Darko) As kitty, hub’s tough but kind mother, and jennifer nettles (The righteous gemstones) As Maryanne, The oft-Exasperated ex-Wife Hub Still Loves.
With just eight episodes that run between 25-30 minutes Each, The bondsman Moves Fast but uses well-chison flashbacks to fill us in on how hub got into this predicament in the first place. Who was behind the murder Attempt? We learn that quickly. We get some layered backstory on Why Someone Wants Him Dead. We also eventually get the full story on why hub, who’s root Around the edges but seemingly not a truly bad guy, bent straight to hell when he diad.
The Demon-Slaying Scenes are extramely fun (the CG is definitely lower-budget, but it fits the grauni vibes of the show), and The bondsman Also incorporates a larger cosmic mystery for hub to puzzle through. But the show is really about a man sorly in need of redemption who gets an unexpected shot at it. Hub Regrets Messing Up with Maryanne, and He’s Starting to Lose Touch with their Teen Son Cade (Lost in space‘s maxwell jenkins), especially since Maryanne has moved on with new guy in town lucky (Justified‘S Damon Herriman), whose sketchy past sets hub’s teeth on edge.
Thought His Time Back on Earth is Compromised by His Danger New Gig-and complicated by other factors, like local cops who grow increase of the weird crime secretes of the wead Town -Hub Soon Realizes He’s Been Given a Gift. There are serial strings attached, yes, but it’s Worth it for the options to make sure his loved only ons know how important they are to him. It gives The bondsmanWhich devotes a lot of screen time to Murderous Monster, some surprising emotional grounding.
Also, and this is no small thing, but The bondsman Has a Blast Incorporating Music ITO Its Storyline, With Well-Executed Needle Drops, A Key Setting in the Town’s Honky-Tonk, and a Subplot About Hub’s Failed Music Dreams-A. Big ‘ Marriage with Maryanne Fell Apart. It feels organic to the setting rather than shoehorned in, and since Nettles just happy to be a renovned country artist, The show wisely makes great use of her powerful Vocals in SEVERAL VOCALS Contexts.
And while this is a spoiler-free review, we will say that The bondsman Ends Its Final Episode with Quite a Few Dangling Threads. Some viewers might find this frustrating; Others might see it as a hopeful sign that hub and company may return for more devilish dealings. Count us in the latter category; We’D happy Watch kevin bacon kick more demon ass in any future seasons to come.
All eight episodes of The bondsman Hit Prime Video April 3.
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